These notes look very similar because they both have brown seals and brown serial numbers. Both have a portrait of Grant on the front of them. Generally speaking both notes have very similar layouts. There are some important differences to make note of.

1929 $50 Brown Seal National Bank Notes: -have a bold black number written vertically on the right and left hand side of each bill
-have a serial number that begins with a letter, has six numbers, and may or may not end with A
-have a title on the left hand side of the bill that has the words "national bank" in it

1929 $50 Federal Reserve Bank Notes: -have a bold black letter (could be A - L) stamped four times on the bill
-have a serial number that begins with a letter, has eight numbers, and can end with an A or a star symbol
-have a bank title on the left side of the bill which includes the words “Federal Reserve Bank”

Brown seal national bank notes tend to be worth more than Federal Reserve bank notes. However, there are always exceptions to every rule. Select a type of note above or a picture below to learn more about your 1929 brown seal $50 bill.